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Depression & Mental Health FAQs
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated 40 million Americans living today will suffer from major depressive illness during their lives. Seasonal affective disorder is major depression that appears in the fall or winter and goes away in spring, thought to be caused by lack of sunlight.
Postpartum depression occurs within four weeks of a women giving childbirth. Most new mothers suffer from some form of the �baby blues.� Postpartum depression, by contrast, is major depression, thought to be triggered by changes in hormonal flows associated with childbirth. Catatonic depression is a rare form of major depression characterized by (at least two): Stupor, excessive motor activity, extreme negativism, peculiarities in voluntary movement, and repetition of other people's words or actions. - mcmanweb.com
Psychotic depression is a rare form of depression characterized by delusions or hallucinations, such as believing you are someone you are not and hearing voices.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the US population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder. Depression is a chronic illness that exacts a significant toll on
America's health and productivity. It affects more than 21 million
American children and adults annually and is the leading cause of
disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44.
Lost productive time among U.S. workers due to depression is estimated
to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently
co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease,
cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status
and prognosis. It is also the principal cause of the 30,000 suicides
in the U.S. each year. In 2004, suicide was the 11 th leading cause of death in the United States, third among individuals 15-24.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is presently on track to becoming the world's second-most disabling disease (after heart disease) by the year 2020. Depression is responsible for some $87 billion a year in lost productivity in the US (a conservative estimate), and according to Bank One, is responsible for most lost work days in its employees after pregnancy and childbirth. Additionally, one million people worldwide die by their own hand, most as a result of a mood disorder. Finally, the linkage between depression and a host of physical illnesses makes it arguably the world's greatest killer.
Research presented at the 56th Annual Conference of the Canadian
Psychiatric Association shows a marked link between bipolar disorder
and migraines. The odds of migraine in persons with bipolar disorder were 40% higher than the general population. Data
obtained from 36,984 people aged 15 and over, who screened positive for
manic or depressive episodes with migraine, were compared against those
who screened positive for mania but who didn�t suffer from migraines. Amongst
males, 14.9% of those with manic episodes were also diagnosed with
migraines compared with 5.8% of the general population. Amongst
females, 34.7% had both migraines and bipolar disorder compared with
14.7% who only had migraines.unquote.gif While the research was
skewed towards persons who were already diagnosed with bipolar
disorders, what does it mean for people who suffer from migraines but
who may have an undiagnosed bipolar disorder?
Migraines and headaches aren�t fully understood but the manifestations are very real and debilitating for their sufferers: Throbbing pain Nausea Heightened sensitivity to light or sound Seeing dots, wavy lines, flashing lights, or blind spots Difficulty with speech, sensation, or movement
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Stress Rewires the Brain:
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Stress Rewires the Brain, Leads to Depression Cycle
(Sunday Gazette - Mail; Charleston, W.V.)
Nov 16th 2004
Join the battle Stress and depression are profoundly connected. There are things you can do to battle both. s Sleep and rest Essential for coping with hectic situations and recovering psychologically. * Healthy diet Processed and junk food can add to both stress and depression. * Avoiding alcohol It might seem to relieve stress, but it also acts as a depressant. * Avoiding caffeine It can play havoc with stress and disrupt your health and sleep. * Regular exercise A great reliever of stress and natural anti-depressant. * Social connections and diversions Taking time for more than work is important. * Taking work breaks Remember, your emotional and psychological health might be involved. * Getting therapy if you need it Anti-depressants might not be enough. Many people need both.
Knight Ridder Newspapers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Stress and depression - perhaps the two psychological states discussed most by Americans in recent years - are profoundly linked, top officials at the National Institute of Mental Health say.
Psychologists and psychiatrists have known for decades that stress can lead to depression. "A rat always chased by a cat doesn't have much time to enjoy life," said Philip Gold of the institute. Post-traumatic stress disorder also often involves depression.
But recent developments in brain imaging and other areas of neurology show that stress actually works to "rewire" the brain's emotional circuits. So depression becomes not just an emotional and psychological result, but a physiological one.
Especially with victims of severe stress, depression can be caused by more than just chemical imbalance in the brain. A stressed- depressed brain alters its connections and actually operates differently.
"This is a systemic disorder," Gold says. "It affects the circuits of the brain."
Severe stress like growing up in poverty can reshape the brain, but so can ongoing work stress, experts say.
"Stressed-out" is a national buzzword, and more than 18 million Americans suffer from clinical depression each year. Many sufferers have a genetic tendency toward depression passed down from a family member. They are especially vulnerable to stress.
Millions of schoolkids are beginning stressful schedules far earlier in life than previous generations. So this stress- depression link presents both a major concern for the future, and new clues for researchers. Gold and others say this link could lead to important new medications and "a roadmap to treatment."
The hope is that stress-mediators could work with anti- depressants to stop the cycle before it reshapes the "wiring" between the brain's fear center in the amygdala and the emotional monitoring that goes on in the prefrontal cortex.
And there's another reason for hope: The reshaping of the brain might be reversible. One of the key findings of recent brain imaging is that the brain is highly adaptable.
Nerve cell connections can be destroyed by depression, but perhaps they can also be rebuilt again. "The big news is the structural plasticity of the adult brain, the remodeling of neurons," neurobiologist Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University told Psychology Today.
The stress-depression connection could also lead to applications for our daily lives - especially if we know we're at risk for depression.
For instance, if work is taking over your life at the expense of common pleasures, you need to make time in your daily routine to give your stressed-out brain a break.
Stress causes the "fear center" in the amygdala part of our brains to take over our emotions and affect our thinking. Some people are able to use that healthy fear to respond to a hectic or frightening situation. The stress response is supposed to shut down when the stressful event passes. Then most people can enjoy a full range of emotions again.
But if someone is clinically depressed, the chemical imbalance in his brain often keeps the stress system active. High-tech brain imaging scans show that victims of long-term stress actually fail to experience positive feelings in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain just behind the forehead that establishes and maintains emotions. In these brains rewired by stress, fear and dread then surge unchecked from the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex.
And the stress response never rests, precipitating depression.
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Depression & Mental Health FAQs 2
What is Clinical Depression? Clinical
depression can affect your body, mood, thoughts, and behavior. It can
change your eating habits, how you feel and think about things, your
ability to work and study, and how you interact with people. Clinical
depression is not a passing mood, a sign of personal weakness or a
condition that can be willed away. Clinically depressed people cannot
"pull themselves together" and get better. Depression can be
successfully treated by a mental health professional or certain health
care providers. With the right treatment, 80 percent of those who seek
help get better. And many people begin to feel better in just a few
weeks.
Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health World Health Organization Finds Depression Often Goes Untreated By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Sept.
6, 2007 -- Depression has a greater impact on overall health than
arthritis, diabetes, angina, and asthma, but it all too often goes
unrecognized and untreated, a report from the World Health Organization
(WHO) suggests. more... Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health
For Additional Information About Depression Write To: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8184, MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
For free brochures on depression and its treatment call: 1-800-421-4211. or visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
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